Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Getting Muddy

I got back to work making pots yesterday. It's time to get the racks restocked and a firing of the new kiln under my belt.
I had a good time casually making these plates, bowls, mugs and other odds and ends. I'm working in small groups of 3 or 6. I like working in a small series. The new kiln is small so it kind of dictates how I work.I was listening to an interview with a famous illustrator yesterday and the interviewer asked him about his style and how he could make even the most fierce creatures appear funny and less threatening. The illustrator basically said, It's just the way I draw. It's my style. It's who I am. I thought that was a good enough answer. He was saying, This is how I do it, it's mine. There was no long explanation or defense. I liked that.
I have found that when I have an attitude like that I make my best pots. I'm just being me...making pots...making them the way I make them. Not trying to be someone else, not trying to be different or showy or super cool. Just being me. I felt like that when I was making pots at Clayworks the other night.

Now about My drawings. I have been thinking they are too silly. Maybe they should be more detailed, more serious, more like someone else's.

Rubbish. Right? Ha. They are what they are. Now, I would like for them to improve in some ways. I'd like for them to have some gesture, some movement, some looseness. It's coming I think. I can see it happening in my sketch books. So I guess I am 'developing' my characters. I know these pots are kinda different for me. Funny birds and fish with teeth, odd flowers and weird tails. Well, it's just how I draw. Right? It's what I'm doing right now. It's what I know.

Okay blah, blah, blah. Enough for today. I've got to get out there and work. The sun is out today and everything is green from the good drink of rain it had yesterday. So I'm off....